There are high school graduates who left their marks through academic achievement, talent in the arts, or prowess on the playing field.
And then there are those who inspired classmates and faculty with their courage and who were determined to receive their diplomas with the class of 2008 despite any obstacles in their way.
Four remarkable seniors from the North region overcame extreme adversity on the way to graduation day.
Two students lost their parents, one to death, one to jail; one beat cancer; another wouldn't let physical disabilities slow her down.
All are heading to college in the fall.
Here are their stories, written by Globe staff reporter Kathy McCabe.
Melissa Waugh
Northeast Metro Tech High School, Wakefield
On a field trip to the Middleton jail, Melissa Waugh listened as prisoners talked to students about life behind bars. And then it was time for each student to say a few words to the inmates. Most thanked them for the advice offered through Scared Straight, a prison visitation program.
Waugh spoke from her heart, looking directly at the three inmates seated before her.
"I can relate to your kids," Waugh, 18, recalled saying. "Your kids are at home, needing their father. You are in here. I don't feel sorry for you."
Waugh's parents are in jail. At age 4, she watched her father beat her mother. At 6, she awoke one night to find her alcoholic mother gone. She called her grandmother to come get her and her older brother, then 11. Both of her parents are now in jail for various reasons, including drugs, alcohol, and failure to pay child support, she said. Waugh, who lives in Revere, was raised by an aunt.
"My parents have been out of my life for 12 years. It has made me stronger. They weren't there to say 'Do this, don't do that.' I learned it on my own."
She graduated with honors from Northeast Metro Tech, where she studied office technology. Her aunt suggested that Waugh attend the school. "She thought it would be good so I could get a job," said Waugh. "It was the best choice for me. All my teachers were friendly. The classes were great, but not easy. Every day I wanted to go to class, sit down, and study."
Waugh had perfect attendance her senior year. She was treasurer of her class and the National Honor Society. She won a Citizenship Award and was voted "teacher's pet" by classmates. An all-star softball pitcher, she was also on the swim team.
"I love swimming," said Waugh, who works as a lifeguard at Revere Beach. "In the water, you just let everything go."
In September, Waugh will attend Salem State College. She has been awarded free room and board but is still waiting to hear how much tuition assistance she'll receive. She hopes one day to be a school counselor. "College has always been my goal," she said. "I know I can go really far in life."
When she first started high school, Waugh avoided discussing her family. "I told people my mother was dead," she said. "I just didn't know what else to say. Sometimes I felt, 'Why can't I just have a normal family like everyone else?' "
She found strength at Northeast, she said. Teachers and students became like family.
"She's an amazing young lady," said Amy Driscoll, a school adjustment counselor. "She's always positive, always smiling. She gives a lot to others."
Waugh joined the school's chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions, or SADD. In a few years, after settling in at Salem State, she'd like to return to Northeast and start a club called Reality. It would combine principles of SADD and Scared Straight.
"It would be a group for kids who have problems with alcohol in their families or parents who are in jail," she said. "I'd like them to know someone is looking out for them."
Brendan Grimes
Ipswich High School
Brendan Grimes's parents died 13 days apart over Christmas vacation during his junior year at Ipswich High School.
Stephen Grimes, who was 56, succumbed to a stroke on Dec. 18, 2007. On New Year's Eve, Cheryl Kleiner Grimes, 48, died after being stricken at home. The couple had divorced a year before their deaths.
"I just couldn't believe it could happen again so soon," said Brendan, now 18, his voice laced with disbelief. "It was just so tough. . . . It was almost like a kick in the butt."
He went back to school, getting A's and B's in honors and advanced placement courses. He went back to work at an after-school child-care program at a local elementary school. In the spring, Grimes played on the Tigers' boys' tennis team. In his senior year, he tackled Mandarin Chinese.
"I just kicked it into high gear," said Grimes, a lanky teen with tousled, light-brown hair. "I always try to look on the bright side of things."
The family was last together at Brendan's confirmation at Our Lady of Hope Church just five days before his father fell ill.
"It almost seemed like God was preparing me," he said. "Our parents raised us to be strong."
After the divorce, Brendan and his brother, Patrick, 15, split time living with each parent. After their deaths, the boys stayed temporarily with their grandparents and now live with an aunt. His childhood home is being prepared to be sold.
"That's tough," he said. "I loved my neighborhood. . . . I am lucky, though, to have a huge family. They all live very close. That has really helped."
But Grimes has had to grow up fast. He sometimes has to sign bank statements for his family finances. He toured college campuses with his half-sister, Kelly, who is 35, his father's daughter from a first marriage.
"That was different," Grimes said. "That's the type of stuff your parents really get into."
He has a scholarship to attend the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and hopes to study international business. But he is also on the waiting list at Boston College, which both his father and grandfather attended.
"I'm really hoping," he said, crossing his fingers. "I have a lot of family history there."
Grimes also knows luck can be on his side. At the senior prom, his name was picked out of a hat to be the king of the prom.
"That was so amazing," he said. "That was just a fun way to end high school."
Briana Galeazzi
Classical High School, Lynn
At age 12, Briana Galeazzi tagged along with her baby brother for his one-week checkup at their pediatrician. Her mother mentioned that her usually vivacious daughter seemed unusually tired, with no appetite. The doctor ordered a blood test.
That night, around midnight, the phone rang. The doctor called with a startling diagnosis: acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Her mother, Sheila, woke Briana up, telling her they needed go to North Shore Children's Hospital in Salem. Her father, David, a Lynn police officer who was on duty, met them at the emergency room.
"I heard [doctors] explaining to my parents, 'Your daughter has leukemia,' " Galeazzi recalled. "But I had no idea what it was."
Over the next 2 1/2 years, Galeazzi received chemotherapy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She received intravenous treatments in the hospital, and took pills at home. "After a while, they just became another pill I had to take," she said. "I think because I was so young, I wasn't scared."
Now in remission, she is thankful for the encouragement of her family and friends. "Whenever I had to go into the hospital, my friends came every night and on weekends to see me," said Galeazzi,17, who smiles easily and often. "They'd bring games, or snacks. . . . They are still my friends today."
At Classical High, Galeazzi took honors and advanced placement courses, and graduated with honors. She's headed to Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., where she hopes to major in physical therapy or athletic training. At Classical, she played softball, ran track, and was a four-year cheerleader for football and basketball, serving as captain since her sophomore year.
"I love Classical," she said. "I don't want to leave."
With her family, which includes two sisters and a brother, Galeazzi worked on behalf of cancer awareness. Her father has run the Boston Marathon to raise money for children's cancer care at Mass. General. This year, she wrote the letter seeking donations. She also spoke at Classical's Relay for Life, part of a national walkathon to raise money for cancer research.
Her message: "Don't let cancer get to you."
Breanna Comeau
Amesbury High School
Born deaf in her left ear, Breanna Comeau was diagnosed with dyslexia soon after starting school. "I've never thought of them as disabilities," said Comeau, 18. "I think of it more as a gift. They keep me motivated."
At Amesbury High, Comeau was a star basketball player. Although she can hear in one ear, Comeau can't distinguish which direction sounds are coming from. So her teammates learned hand signals to communicate with her.
"I told them from day one, 'I'm deaf,' " she said. "It was a team effort."
A four-year varsity player, she was the Indians' captain this year. At 5 feet 10 inches, Comeau played forward, averaging 13 points per game this past season. She also played for the Lady Panthers of Plaistow, N.H., in the Amateur Athletic Union league, traveling to Pennsylvania to compete in the national championships.
"Basketball has helped me a lot," said Comeau, who has also coached youth basketball teams. "It's given me a lot of confidence."
In school, where she took college prep courses, Comeau always sat in the front row. She used special audio software, which read text aloud, to assist with her reading. She was a regular on the honor roll. Comeau was a Big Sister to severely disabled students at school, some of whom are in wheelchairs.
"I can relate to them," she said.
She was born with pneumonia, spending her first month of life at Children's Hospital in Boston. But her hearing loss wasn't diagnosed by doctors at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston until she was in third grade.
"I always passed my hearing tests," she said, explaining the late discovery. "I can feel vibrations in my ear, but I can't tell you what you're saying."
Comeau next year will attend Salem State College, where she plans to major in criminal justice. She'll also lace up for the Lady Vikings basketball team.
"I love competition," said Comeau, who was recruited by several Division 2 and 3 colleges. "I don't like losing."
